Kuchma considers it inexpedient to change location of TCG negotiations platform

14:56, 28.09.2018 1 min read

The second President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005) considers it inappropriate to move the site of negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) to settle the situation in Donbas from Minsk (Belarus) to a neutral country.

"We hear [suggestions]: let's move from Minsk to a neutral country. I list these countries: Switzerland, Sweden, Finland ... Does anyone think that we can hold these meetings there? Or someone declares that they will register admission to the representatives of Donbas there … What will it cost to hold meetings there? Do you know that some participants in the Minsk process pay travel costs to the capital of Belarus out of their own pocket?" Kuchma told reporters in Kyiv on Friday.

He stressed that "we must think about the consequences" of the statements made.

Kuchma also noted that Belarus' behavior on the international arena is understandable, because "Russia is putting pressure on it" and official Minsk cannot get rid of this pressure for objective reasons.